Date: 22 Mar 1993 18:59:30GMT 
From: "Alun J. Carr" <ajcarr%ollamh.ucd.ie@Forsythe.Stanford.EDU>
Subject: [*] Centris Ethernet Report 

Dear All,

A week ago I sent out a request for information about the built-in ethernet
connection in a Centris 650 (as in our College Microstore didn't want me to
use it). I enclose the responses I received for filing as a report.

The consensus is that the inbuilt connector is the thing to use, with the
caveat that Apple's self-terminating transponders may cause problems. One
respondent seems to have had very bad problems with Quadra 700s, cause
unknown.

Many thanks to all those who replied.

Alun

A. J. Carr, Mech. Eng. Dept., UCD, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.

===== Cut here ============================================================

==========
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
==========

From:          Self <AJCARR>
To:            info-mac@sumex-aim.stanford.edu
Subject:       Centris built-in Ethernet connection (Q)
Reply-to:      ajcarr@ollamh.ucd.ie
Date:          14 Mar 1993 18:56:12

I recently took delivery of a shiny new Centris 650 8/500 (which I'm not
typing this on for reasons which will become apparent), and it has an RJ45
connector on the back, which I understand is a built-in Ethernet connection
\`a la Quadra. The College Microstore from whom I purchased the above beast
tell me that I shouldn't buy the Apple RJ45->thin co-ax adapter for this,
but that I should buy an Asant\'e NuBus card instead. They tell me that this
is because (i) Apple don't know anything about Ethernet connections (which I
find a mite hard to believe) and (ii) NCSA/BYU Telnet 2.5 doesn't have a
driver for these inbuilt connections (though I would have thought that
there'd be a few Quadras at the NCSA, of all places!).

Does anybody have any good/bad experiences of using these inbuilt
connections? Would a NuBus card be any better (a colleague and myself have
had bad experiences with Asant\'e products in the past---like his SE with an
Asant\'e card in it refuses to talk to his serial DeskWriter C when
networking is turned on)? Do I have to buy a copy of MacTCP 1.1.1 to use the
inbuilt connection with NCSA/BYU Telnet? Should I have kept the Microstore
happy and bought a 486 (urgh, yech, retch...)?

Please respond direct, and if I get a suitable number of responses I'll
produce a summary.

Thanks, everybody.

Alun

==========
REPLIES:
==========

Date:          Tue, 16 Mar 93 17:23:54 EST
From:          fredb@Calvin.EDU (Fred H. Bremmer)
Subject:       Mac built-in ethernet
To:            ajcarr@ollamh.ucd.ie

Hello,

Here at Calvin College we received three Quadra 700's, and bought coax
tranceivers for them.  One worked perfectly, one had intermittant
ethernet problems that seemed to become permanent, and the other would
only allow you to use the ethernet if you had booted from a floppy
with System 7.0.1 and the ethernet drivers on it.  It refused to
access the ethernet when it booted from the hard drive which was
configured exactly the same as the Quadra that worked fine.

We're buying Asante cards for the two defective Quadras, and I'm
typing this through NCSA Telnet on one of them which is using an
Asante card borrowed from a IIcx.

We're buying some Centris computers, and if they don't work with the
transceivers from the defective Quadras, we'll either send the
Centrises back to Apple for repair, or we'll buy more Asante cards.

If possible, please send a copy of your results to my email address.
I don't always have time to read the whole Info-Mac digest.

Thanks,

Fred
--
 Fred Bremmer    |  Internet: fredb@calvin.edu
 Calvin College  |----------------------------
 Grand Rapids,   |   Phone:   (616) 957-6144
 MI USA   49546  |   Fax:     (616) 957-8551

==========

Date:          Tue, 16 Mar 93 09:26:50 -0100
From:          ajones@rughsd.ksw.rug.nl (andrew jones)
Subject:       Q700 built in ethernet
To:            ajcarr@ollamh.ucd.ie


Dear Alun,

I just read your note about built in ethernet for macs. I am at this
moment sitting infront of my Q700 with telenet 2.5, connected by
thin ethernet to my workstation which gives me access to the wide
world. I have ABSOLUTELY NO problems with this, the apple self-
terminating cables are a real joy to use, and so it is not me
who crashes the net anymore, infact the quadra is the most reliable
machine on our local ethernet of various DIGITAL, SUN, and PC
machines. IMHO, i would go for the apple solution, this is ofcourse
only based on my experience with the Quadra, (but i also had very
few problems with an apple ethernet nubus card for my old CX, and
those were problems that came from not reading the book!)

all the best
andrew (ajones@solar.stanford.edu)

==========

Date:          Tue, 16 Mar 93 16:40:09 -0100
From:          ajones@rughsd.ksw.rug.nl (andrew jones)
Subject:       Re: Q700 built in ethernet
To:            ajcarr@ollamh.ucd.ie

Hi Alun,

I am afraid that you do need MacTCP probably v1.1.1, though i can get
by with 1.1. I got my version with Mathematica, and so did not
actually pay for it, but the licencing seems to be very strange
(as with all apple goodies!) I know the Eudora e-mail program used
to be distributed with MacTCP, but maybe not now, it used to be
available from ftp.cso.uiuc.edu.

All the best, and let me know how you get on, or if you have problems
andrew

==========

Date:          16 Mar 1993 13:30:47 -0400 (EDT)
From:          "Michael S. McKinley" <MCKINLEY%OPUS@cutter.iarc.mco.edu>
Subject:       built-in Ethernet
To:            ajcarr@ollamh.ucd.ie

apple's "built-in" Ethernet for which you have to buy the transponder is a
wonderful thing...above all, it free's up your Nu-Bus slots for better
things
(so why would you buy an ethernet card, unless you take the word of a
salesman).

==========

Date:          16 Mar 1993 10:29:53 -0500
From:          webster@ac.dal.ca (Chris Webster)
Subject:       Centris built-in Ethernet connection
To:            ajcarr@ollamh.ucd.ie

>The College Microstore from whom I purchased the above beast
>tell me that I shouldn't buy the Apple RJ45->thin co-ax adapter for this,
>but that I should buy an Asant\'e NuBus card instead.

Yea and you should buy 100 megs of memory, three 21" monitors, and five
hard disks too.  Your Microstore sounds pretty good at selling.

>They tell me that this
>is because (i) Apple don't know anything about Ethernet connections (which
I
>find a mite hard to believe) and (ii) NCSA/BYU Telnet 2.5 doesn't have a
>driver for these inbuilt connections (though I would have thought that
>there'd be a few Quadras at the NCSA, of all places!).

They are screwey; and wrong on both counts.

>Would a NuBus card be any better (a colleague and myself have
>had bad experiences with Asant\'e products in the past---like his SE with
an
>Asant\'e card in it refuses to talk to his serial DeskWriter C when
>networking is turned on)?

I can't think of a single reason you'd want to put in an ethernet nubus
card. Unless you want to be on two different networks(!!). Asante has
pretty good stuff. For technical support you can mail to
asante.tech@applelink.apple.com; I'm sure they'd help your friend.

>Do I have to buy a copy of MacTCP 1.1.1 to use the
>inbuilt connection with NCSA/BYU Telnet?

No. But your campus should buy a site license of MacTCP so you'd get it
"free". NCSA Telnet has built in drivers if you don't want to use any other
TCP programs.

>Please respond direct, and if I get a suitable number of responses I'll
>produce a summary.

I expect you'll get more than a few!

Oh advice? You want to buy an Asante Friendly Net Connector (I'm not sure
of the product name but saying this to someone *knowledgeable* will get you
the correct thing). This connects the ether port on your machine to
10Base-T, ThinNet, or ThickNet, whatever you have there. Your campus
network people *should* be able to help more than I.

hope this helps

-chris                              <webster@ac.dal.ca>

==========

Date:          Tue, 16 Mar 1993 10:05:57 -0600
From:          williw1@mail.auburn.edu (Wade Williams)
Subject:       Re: Ethernet
To:            Info-Mac@sumex-aim.stanford.edu, ajcarr@ollamh.ucd.ie

The College Microstore from whom I purchased the above beast
>tell me that I shouldn't buy the Apple RJ45->thin co-ax adapter for this,
>but that I should buy an Asant\'e NuBus card instead. They tell me that
this
>is because (i) Apple don't know anything about Ethernet connections (which
I
>find a mite hard to believe)

Tell them THEY don't know anything about Ethernet connections.  Apple knows
plenty.  Buy the Apple transceiver for the appropriate media (ThinNet,
10BaseT, etc).  Asante makes FriendlyNet transceivers that used to be
cheaper, but since Apple reduced prices on theirs, the difference is less
than $10.  You do NOT need an Ethernet NuBus card.

(ii) NCSA/BYU Telnet 2.5 doesn't have a
>driver for these inbuilt connections (though I would have thought that
>there'd be a few Quadras at the NCSA, of all places!).

It doesn't need one.  It uses the standard Ethernet drivers included with
your Macintosh, or MacTCP if that is installed.

Would a NuBus card be any better (a colleague and myself have
>had bad experiences with Asant\'e products in the past---like his SE with
an
>Asant\'e card in it refuses to talk to his serial DeskWriter C when
>networking is turned on)?

That's not Asante's fault.  You cannot have both LocalTalk and Ethernet
active at the same time.  Your friend needs to buy something like Sonic
System's LaserBridge to enable him to be able to use both simultaneously.


Do I have to buy a copy of MacTCP 1.1.1 to use the
>inbuilt connection with NCSA/BYU Telnet?

You don't have to buy MacTCP to use NCSA Telnet.  If you do not have
MacTCP, 2.5 will use it's own TCP/IP instead.  However, the benefits of
MacTCP are many.  It is now available for educational purchase for $39.

>Should I have kept the Microstore
>>happy and bought a 486 (urgh, yech, retch...)?

Trust me, you did the right thing.  When you were trying to get your
network drivers loaded high but couldn't because you couldn't find a
suitable address to locate the EMM386 page frame, you'd wish you'd bought a
Mac.  And the Microstore would be telling you the 486 was better because
you "had more control."

Wade Williams
Academic Computing Services, Auburn University
williw1@mail.auburn.edu

==========

Date:          Tue, 16 Mar 93 08:21:42 -0500
From:          daveh@msd.measurex.com
Subject:       Ethernet interfaces
To:            "ajcarr@ccvax.ucd.ie"@COMET.msd.measurex.com

The problem with Apple's adapter is that it is 'self-terminated' and that
has lead to lots of problems. Apple just cut their list price of their
adapters from $149 to $99 but most stores don't seem to be passing that
price cut on. I just got some literature from Sonic Systems out near San
Francisco and they have a new line of Ethernet adapters that use the more
standard BNC terminating method plus they add LEDs to their adapters so that
you can do diagnostics much easier. Their 5-year warranty isn't too bad
either. I' don't have their phone number handy but information should have
it.
Hope this helps.......  Dave Hirsh, Cincinnati,OH

==========

Date:          Mon, 15 Mar 93 21:50:36 EST
From:          Mel Martinez <mem@JHUFOS.pha.jhu.edu>
Subject:       Centris built-in Ethernet connection (R)
To:            info-mac@sumex-aim.stanford.edu
Cc:            AJCARR@ollamh.ucd.ie
Reply-to:      Mel Martinez <mem@JHUFOS.pha.jhu.edu>

In info-mac digest v11 #058 Alun J. Carr
<AJCARR%ollamh.ucd.ie@Forsythe.Stanford.Edu> writes:

> I recently took delivery of a shiny new Centris 650 8/500 (which I'm not
> typing this on for reasons which will become apparent), and it has an RJ45
> connector on the back, which I understand is a built-in Ethernet
connection
> \`a la Quadra. The College Microstore from whom I purchased the above
beast
> tell me that I shouldn't buy the Apple RJ45->thin co-ax adapter for this,
> but that I should buy an Asant\'e NuBus card instead. They tell me that
this
> is because (i) Apple don't know anything about Ethernet connections (which
I
> find a mite hard to believe) and (ii) NCSA/BYU Telnet 2.5 doesn't have a
> driver for these inbuilt connections (though I would have thought that
> there'd be a few Quadras at the NCSA, of all places!).
>
> Does anybody have any good/bad experiences of using these inbuilt
> connections? Would a NuBus card be any better (a colleague and myself have
> had bad experiences with Asant\'e products in the past---like his SE with
an
> Asant\'e card in it refuses to talk to his serial DeskWriter C when
> networking is turned on)? Do I have to buy a copy of MacTCP 1.1.1 to use
the
> inbuilt connection with NCSA/BYU Telnet? Should I have kept the Microstore
> happy and bought a 486 (urgh, yech, retch...)?

(i) clearly your College Microstore either doesn't know much about ethernet
OR
they are simply lying through their teeth to sell you hardware you already
have...

(ii) If the idiots new anything at all about Mac ethernet (or just plain the
way
macs work at all) they might know that mac programs in general don't supply
their own drivers.  The drivers are generally system level and are accessed
through specific interfaces provided by the OS.  In the case of ethernet,
most
programs go through the Comm ToolBox (CTB).  The CTB provides a standard way
for
all programs to make use of both driver tools (such as the ethernet drivers
provided by the OS (in the case of built-in ethernet) or by third parties
(in
the case of third party ethernet cards) as well as different protocol,
server
and client tools.  This is very UNlike the dos world where every program has
to
provide it's own driver support for each piece of hardware it might
encounter.

Now, to be fair, it might be the in case (i) that they really mean that you
should buy your RJ45=AAUI=FriendlyNet to thinnet transciever from Asante'
instead of Apple since Asante's tranciever is usually cheaper (via Mail
order,
it is about $60 or so.).

In case (ii) I believe there is a version of Telnet that does not use MacTCP
but
instead provides it's own TCP/IP protocol support.  They may be all confused
over that issue.  In general, for max compatibility, you want to have all
your
TCP/IP tools going through MacTCP.

To get the latest version of MacTCP (v1.1.1, which you will need, since you
must
run Sys7.1) you must either purchase it directly from APDA as part of the
MacTCP
Developer's kit ($99), or get it bundled with some commercial software or
get it
through your school if they have paid for a site liscence (and you are
eligible
to take advantage of this liscence).  If you are not eligible to get it
under a
cheap liscence, the cheapest way I know of to get MacTCP is to order
VersaTilities from Synergy Software (a truly great software company, btw)
which
is about $59 or so from MacWarehouse & other places.   Aside from MacTCP, it
also includes Telnet, FTP client/server and other nifty network tools that
any
CTB - aware program should be able to use.  To go a little further and get a
nice terminal emulator on top of this stuff, go ahead and get VersaTerm.  It
is
lots nicer (IMHO) than NCSA Telnet and comes with all the goodies of
VersaTilities.  It is usually about $79.

> Does anybody have any good/bad experiences of using these inbuilt
> connections? Would a NuBus card be any better (a colleague and myself have
> had bad experiences with Asant\'e products in the past---like his SE with
an
> Asant\'e card in it refuses to talk to his serial DeskWriter C when
> networking is turned on)? Do I have to buy a copy of MacTCP 1.1.1 to use
the
> inbuilt connection with NCSA/BYU Telnet? Should I have kept the Microstore
> happy and bought a 486 (urgh, yech, retch...)?

I use the built-in ethernet of my Quadra all the time.  So do zillions of
others.  A NuBus card MIGHT do better if it a) has a bigger buffer than the
built-in enet (and I'm am sorry but I don't know how big that is) and b)
takes
full advantage of the NuBus advanced transfer modes.  Otherwise, the fact
that
the built-in enet is directly hooked up the i/o controller in the Centris
650
makes me doubt any NuBus card is going to outperform it.

The problem your friend is having is probably not a problem with the Asante'
card.  This complaint usually is a result of the fact that (without the
addition
of AppleTalk Inter-Network Router software [or whatever it is currently
called])
the Mac system cannot have access to both localtalk and ethertalk at the
same
time.  If you just use the ethernet connection for tcp/ip and not ethertalk,
you
should be able to switch the appletalk network in the Network Control Panel
to
local talk and access both the localtalk printer as well as ethernet tcp/ip
services at the same time.  If your tcp/ip services are through a gateway
via
ethertalk, though, he probably will not be able to do so.

If you wish to use telnet or any tcp/ip services, you will indeed recquire
MacTCP v1.1.1.  See above for how to get.

No you should not have kept the Microstore happy.  Make your purchases to
keep
your self happy.  :)  This just might be aided by not shopping at the
aforementioned Microstore.  You might also want to point out to others the
erroneous/incomplete purchasing info they have provided.

Good luck!


Mel Martinez
The Johns Hopkins University
Dept. of Physics
mem@jhufos.pha.jhu.edu

==========

Date:          Tue, 16 Mar 93 10:17:37 EST
From:          Mel Martinez <mem@JHUFOS.pha.jhu.edu>
Subject:       Re: Centris built-in Ethernet connection (R)
To:            ajcarr@ollamh.ucd.ie
Reply-to:      Mel Martinez <mem@JHUFOS.pha.jhu.edu>

In message <MAIL-101.930316134106.256@ollamh.ucd.ie>  writes:
> Mel,
>
> Thanks very much for your response. I'll lean on the Microstore for the
> RJ45->ThinNet coax adapter. I hadn't thought of buying VersaTerm. Does it
> provide Tektronix emulation like NCSA/BYU Telnet?
>

Yes,

Regular VersaTerm provides Tektronix 4010/4014 emulation as well as Dec
VT52/100/220 and Data General 200.  VersaTerm Pro (noticeably more
expensive)
adds Tektronix 4105 (color) emulation.  Most people really don't need the
latter
so I recommend to most to get plain-old VersaTerm.  It is a real bargain.
My
only real complaint about VersaTerm (& VT Pro as well) is that the macro
language is rather crude compared to MicroPhone, White Knight and a few
others.
THEY, however don't match versaterm at all for Tek emulation.  It is really
nice
to be able to plot to the tek screen (a separate window) while logged in to
the
host, copy or save it as a PICT at 4 x resolution, then paste it into a
document
that was otherwise prepared on a Mac word processor.  The tek screen can be
'paged' so that it saves previous plots in a session (limited by the amount
of
memory allocated to the program) which makes comparisons as simple as paging
up
and down in the tek emulation window.

Also nice is that when saved as PICT objects, the plots are stored as vector
drawings so by making the pen size small in a drawing program like Canvas,
the
full resolution of a laserwriter can be realized. Note, however, that fonts
are
vector-based tektronics drawings and don't usually look anywhere near as
good as
Mac TrueType or Postscript fonts.  So this is where it is good to have the
graphic as an object instead of a bitmap, since you can select and delete
the
offending text away and type in new text in any good drawing program (Canvas
is
the best, though. *wink*).


> The problem with my colleague's Asant\'e card is not due to it being a
> LocalTalk printer, as it uses the serial cable and the HP DeskWriter C
v.2.0
> serial driver (the LocalTalk driver requires that LocalTalk cabling must
be
> used). It does seem to be a problem with the Asant\'e card and/or driver
> software. We've solved it now by buying a Focus Enhancements SCSI/Ethernet
> adapter box and tossing the Asant\'e card. The Focus box works like a
dream.
>

Sor…

Showing first 20,000 characters of 21,349 total. Open the full document →

Date: Thu, 22 Aug 91 10:42:18 CDT 
From: Rick Russell <WRUSS00@ricevm1.rice.edu>
Organization: Rice University 
Subject: SUMMARY: SE/30 External Video Solutions 



Back at the beginning of August I posted a question on the Info-Mac
digest about external video solutions for the SE/30. I didn't receive
very many replies, but those which I did receive were quite good.

Many thanks to everyone who replied. Included below is a digested copy
of the replies, with messages separated by "--" marks.

Rick Russell
wruss00@ricevm1.rice.edu
WRUSS00@RICEVM1.bitnet
--

> Date: Fri, 2 Aug 91 07:24 PST
> From: "Robert T. Rubin" <RUBIN%HARBOR2.BITNET@RICEVM2.RICE.EDU>
> Subject: Video displays for SE/30

We have SEs, SE/30s, and have both Radius 2 page displays and
Megagraphics displays, the latter up to 4 years old.  Other than a
burned out power supply in one of the older Megagraphics monitors, we
haven't had any problems with either brand.  The Radius used to be more
expensive than the Megagraphics, but the price gap has closed, at least
from the dealers we use.  The software supplied by both Radius and
Megagraphics works well; we really don't pay too much attention to it,
we just use it!  All-in-all, we now wouldn't work on a Mac without at
least a black-and-white 2 page display; they're just too con- venient to
be without.  I also put a do-it-yourself Mirror Technologies 2 page
display on my old Mac Plus at home; other than a weaker contrast of the
monitor than we get with the Radius or Megagraphics, it's a pleasure to
use.

Robert T. Rubin
Dep't of Psychiatry
Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
Torrance, CA 90509
(213) 533-3775

--

> Date: Fri, 2 Aug 1991 10:45 CST
> From: Dan Lunderville <Dan.D.Lunderville%uwrf.edu@RICEVM2.RICE.EDU>
> Subject: Mac SE/30 external monitor...
> X-Organization: University of Wisconsin - River Falls

Hi Rick,

We use the Apple 13" RGB monitor when we need an external monitor for an
SE/30. It works quite well and has good color.  We use a third party
card from Micron Technology, model MG3016.  This card goes for about
$300 mail order or from Micron.  The combination has worked well for us.

Take care -

Dan Lunderville                         Internet:   Dan.D.Lunderville@uwrf.edu
Academic Computing Center               AppleLink:  U0095
University of Wisconsin - River Falls
River Falls, WI  54022                  Telephone:  (715) 425-3583

--

> Subject: Monitor for SE/30
> Date: Fri, 02 Aug 91 12:54:46 EDT
> From: tjp@athena.mit.edu

I am using the Sigma Designs L-* MultiMode monitor (yes, that is the
real name) with my SE/30.  It is a 19 inch B/W with six different
user-selectable resolutions (36, 48, 60, 72, 90, and 120 dpi, if I
remember correctly).  The resolution can be adjusted while you work,
except that some programs do not work properly when the resolution is
changed while they are running (especially - you guessed it - Microsoft
products).  The 36 dpi mode is great for games - the same image as on
the 9 inch B/W screen, but magnified two times.

It is a really good monitor - low emission, low weight, low energy use,
easy to use, good brightness and focus, good linearity, and so on.  I
will not claim that it is the best in each category, but it is certainly
good.

I paid $1330 for it (card included).  I have seen it advertised for as
little as $1295 by one mail-order house recently.

No special software comes with the monitor - just the driver and a
screen saver.  Screens can be used simultaneously (I would rather turn
off the small screen, but I cannot).  The size of the arrow cursor can
be changed, the font of the menus can be changed.  I really wish I could
reverse the screen, but I have not found anything which works correctly
for an SE/30.

Hope that this is informative - tjp

--

> From: Mark Alldritt <Mark.Alldritt@vancouver.osiware.bc.ca>
> To: wruss00@ricevm1.rice.edu
> Subject: Re: SE/30 External Monitor

Hi,

I have a SE/30 with a Radius monochrome two-page display (19 inch)
driven using Radius's monochrome driver card.  This display is capable
of being driven using a gray-scale card (I don't need anything more than
B&W, so the extra cost could not be justified).  I made my decision
based primarily on a series of monitor reviews in MacUser and Mac World.
The Radius was the least expensive of the acceptable monitors at that
time.

Important:  Radius's 19inch monitor is an 82dpi display.  This means
that everything is about 7/8s the size it is on an apple monitor.
Radius sells a 21 inch display that is 75dpi (almost 1 to 1 with an
apple display).

Impressions:

When I first received the monitor I had a number of problems with focus
in certain regions of the screen.  All of these problems have gone away
now that the monitor has hade time to break-in.  In terms of brightness,
the display is not as bright as the SE/30's display, but it does meet my
needs (I have the system in a room near a large north facing window).
The display does have a little jitter.  This is most noticable when the
monitor is cold.

The bottom line is that I can't live without it now, and I can't figure
out how I got along without it before.

Software:

Radius ships a software package with their display systems that provides
a number of usefull features including a screen saver, screen capture,
enlarged menu bar, auto-centering of dialog boxes, and tear-off menus
(no longer available in system-7).  I have discovered that this software
is not required to operate the monitor if you already have these
features as part of other packages.

The relationship between the SE/30's monitor and the Radius monitor is
controlled using Apple's Monitors control panel.  This control panel
allows you to define the point on the desktop at which the two monitors
join, and a number of other things.


-Mark

--

> Date:         Thu, 08 Aug 91 15:50:21 PLT
> From: Jerry Tangren <GSW$EN%WSUVM1.CSC.WSU.EDU@RICEVM1.RICE.EDU>
> Subject:      External monitors for the SE/30

Rick, in regards to your 30 July request on Info-mac

I have been using an Apple 13" RGB monitor on my SE/30 for about a year.
For the most part it seems okay. It's driven by a Nutmeg 8 bit board
which cost us about $300 direct on an educational discount from Nutmeg.

My only problems so far are that I have to designate the internal 9"
monitor as my primary screen to use Pagemaker 4.0, and some features of
Cricket Graph cause a system bomb. So, I quit using Cricket, other
packages work fine, and switch monitors to use Pagemaker.

There was some kind of included software I never bothered installing.

Jerry Tangren
Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center
Washington State University

--

Date:         Wed, 14 Aug 91 09:43:50 CDT
From: Robert Blystone <RBLYSTON%TRINITY@RICEVM1.RICE.EDU>
Subject:      infomac

Saw your infomac posting.  We have had good luck running a RasterOPs
board with an Apple RGB monitor on our SE30.  Should you like to know
more.  A former student of mine is now at Rice in Biology by the name of
Tod Romo.  Tod really knows the MAC.  from AUX-2 to OS.  He could give
you much information about equipment.

Bob Blystone Trinity University  512 7367243

--

Date: Thu, 12 Sep 91 06:15:28 PDT 
From: DORY%ORFE.ESNET@esnmrg.nersc.gov
Subject: Responses: Use of Modems in Europe 

Dear Moderators
I append responses by two colleagues concerning the use of modems in
Europe.  They are longish for a communication, so you may wish to put the
body of text into an archive.  Special thanks to below who responded.
Bob

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Info Request:  How to use Modems on European and UK Telephone Systems?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
September 3, 1991, ca 15:30 EDT.

Could our European correspondents please send a bit of information on the use of
modems in the European telephone systems? Do US-style modems work on continental
and UK systems? Are there special adapter plugs sufficient to make an ordinary
2400 baud modem function for a call to the US? Are there TymNet- like services
that will relay local calls to distant services? Are there ways to do that which
are not prohibitively expensive?

If none of the above, are there distributors who provide equipment that will
work on a widespread basis, or is the telephone system in each country enough
different that universal solutions are impractical? Are the telephone system
tariffs different in each country and the laws regarding 'foreign' attachments?
Which organizations are best able to sell/lease equipment, advice and legal
access at a reasonable cost?

Thank you in advance for your help.  I will summarize and post any information
received.

.... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ... .... .... .... .... ....
From:   C34057%BETA.IST.RCCN.PT%CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU@CCC.NERSC.GOV
Subject:   Response to European Modem Inquiry
.... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ... .... .... .... .... ....
Date:   Wed, 4 Sep 91 07:19:18 GMT

Hi,

You can use almost all U.S. modems in U.S.. Before buying one, make sure it
supports the CCITT norms, these norms specify the transfer speeds they have.
You'll have to buy one compatible with CCITT(European/International norms), in
U.S., they use BELL norms but most of the modem support both.

I know lots of people(including myself) who uses U.S. modems in European
telephone networks. All you have to do is to find the right phone plug(easy)
they use RJ11 plugs and buy a 240 to 110V A.C. Adapter.

I have an ATI2400etc, with V42 and MNP error correction protocols and it works
quite well here, you can buy it in US for $200. U.S. Robotics and Heys Modems
also work fine... and many many of then, you only have to check if they are
CCITT compatible

CCITT V21 norm = 300 baud full duplex
CCITT V22 norm = 1200 baud  '
CCITT V22bis   = 2400 baud  '
CCITT V32      = 9600 baud  '

CCITT V42 and/ V42bis = error correcting (also data compression) protocols.

Regards from Portugal,

Carlos

+----  Message ends,  my signature...  ----------------------------------------+
| Carlos F. H. Neves                                                           |
| Technical University of Lisbon-IST/JUNITEC   Phone: +351.1.8473421,Exts 1204,|
| Avenida Rovisco Pais,1                                  1417, 1574 or 1715   |
| P-1000 LISBOA - PORTUGAL                     Fax:   +351.1.898678 (Univ.)    |
|                                                     +351.63.70286 (Home)     |
| Internet: C34057@BETA.IST.RCCN.PT               CompuServe:    100016,1205   |
|        or L34057@BETA.IST.RCCN.PT               VAX/VMS PSI MAIL:            |
|        or 100016.1205@COMPUSERVE.COM               PSI%268004010328::C34057  |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

.... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ... .... .... .... .... ....
From:   purschke%VSIKP0.UNI-MUENSTER.DE@CCC.NERSC.GOV
.... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ... .... .... .... .... ....

Subject: Modems in Europe
Date:   Wed, 04 Sep 1991 21:03:41 +0200

Hi Bob,

"Modems in Europe" is too general. You are right, almost each country here has
its own rules and laws concerning modems. For reasons you'll see, I do not use a
modem, but I can give you some information about the situation in Germany.

First of all, we have the Telekom company which controls ALL aspects of
telecommunications here. They have the monopol with lines and connections and,
most important, they control which equipment can be connected to a German
telephone line (everything, modem, answer machine, EVERYTHING must have a "FTZ"
number, the approval to be used.) You break the law if you connect anything
else, which you may own, but not use. This is your US modem, for example. All
equipment with a FTZ is expensive (the tests must be paid, etc).

Only recently the Telekom has begun to allow standard (not US standard...)
sockets in the walls to connect your own devices (with FTZ!), but you're likely
to live in a non-socket house.

Then the legal way is: Buy or lease a modem from telekom, have it installed by a
telekom technician. Very expensive, but the only legal way.

Most services here are connected to DATEX-P, and you'll need a NUI (Network User
Id), again from Telekom. Then you dial into the nearest (might be a
long-distance call though) relay and can access the DATEX-P net.

Date: Thu, 29 Oct 92 16:31:26 +1100 
From: mantolov@golum.riv.csu.edu.au (Michael Antolovich)
Subject: Syquest Error Codes 

Hi, 
   Could you archive the following Syquest Drive Error Codes please (the
originator of this info was Jim Meyer (I accidently called him Julien
somewhere else, sorry about that :-}.

Syquest SQ555 Diagnostics - LED Error Reporting Table from the SQ555 OEM
Technical Reference Manual, pg 5-3
 
  # of LED blinks:
  GREEN  RED/AMBER  ERROR DESCRIPTION
 -------------------------------------
    1        1      EPROM failed checksum test
    1        2      Internal uC RAM
    1        3      External uC RAM
    1        5      Seek error
    1        6      Read error
    1        7      Write error
    2        1      Controller failure
    2        2      Sequencer - Test 1
    2        3      Sequencer - Test 2
    2        4      R/W buffer address register - Test 1
    2        5      R/W buffer address register - Test 2
    2        6      R/W buffer RAM - Test 1
    2        7      R/W buffer RAM - Test 2
    3        1      PO test
    3        2      uC port
    3        3      P2 Test
    4        1      Spindle motor failed to start
    4        2      Spindle motor spins too slow
    4        3      Spindle motor spins too fast
    5        1      Power failure
    5        2      Spindle speed abnormal or no servo
    5        3      Unable to detect servos; possible defective cartridge
    6        1      ADC calibration failure
    6        2      ADC high current failure
    6        3      ADC low current failure
   off    flashing  Failed power-up sequence; possible defective cartridge
 flashing   off     Unable to read; possible unformatted cartridge
 
+--------------------------------------------+-------------------------+
|  Julien Finaudere' du Main Pourpre         |  Jim Meyer DoD#680      |
|  Collegium Turris Animarum, Bryn Gwlad     |  purp@wixer.cactus.org  |
+--------------------------------------------+-------------------------+

Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1992 00:01 EST 
From: ROBERT_BROCKMAN <CDBSDUC@grove.iup.edu>
Subject: Answers to "Internal grayscale on SE/30?" query 

I recently posted a question to the net about the Micron card for the SE/30
that allows the internal monitor to display grayscale. I received a slew of
requests from folks wanting to hear what I learned, so what follows is the
main body text from the three messages I received.

> The condensed version is that the card is great, 
> but a little tricky to install.

Personally, while I was collecting this data I decided my money was better
spent on Think Pascal 4.0 and QUED/M, so it doesn't look like I'll be buying
anything in the way of hardware any time soon, but a big THANK YOU to those
that helped me out.

Robert Brockman, CDBSDUC@IUP.BITNET  or  CDBSDUC@GROVE.IUP.EDU

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

I have the Micron system on my SE/30.  I have had no problems at
all, although installing the thing was a little nerve racking.

I does take a little longer for startup due to the increased power
requirements.

There is a card in the slot that must be powered before the screen
can be started.  It takes ~2 seconds more for the screen to appear
than for the '30 without the card.  That's all.

From:	NetMail%"EDW@cup.portal.com" 26-JUL-1992 22:07:21.00
        Ed Wright

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

I have been using a Micron Colour 30 with the GrayScale 30 internal adapter
in my SE/30 for the last 6 months. It actually works as expected.
The only problem I have found is the way Micron has chosen to solve a
problem with stupid programs. Some programs start by checking the screen
size and if it's 512 * 342 the program decides it must be 1 bit black/white;
the programs does not check to see if the screen is grayscale. Micron
chose set the screen size to 512 * 341 to force these programs to check the
screen more closely.

This unfortunately gives a few other problems, with some programs. I have
had programs complaining that they could not run, because the program
needed at least a 512 * 342 screen. Others decide that if the screen isn't
512 * 342 it must at least be 512 * 384 (Apple 12" colour) and start up
with a dialog, where all the buttons have been placed outside the screen; 
most of these only need an OK, that can be reached by pressing the return
button, but I have seen a few where I had to press the reset button to get
my machine back.

All of these problems are results of sloppy programming of the programs, I
just wish Micron had found a way that allowed me to open a HyperCard stack
and use it directly, without first having to resize and move the stack
window.

This problem only turns up with a few badly programmed programs - most
programs use the 9" screen without problems.

If you connect an external monitor, or use Virtual Video to emulate a
bigger screen, this problem disappears.

I find the combination of the Micron video card and grayscale adapter to be
very good. The video is speeded, compared with the original video, and some
programs, including the operating system, actually sometimes think that the
machine is a Macintosh IIx. You get a lot for the price, and your machine
will suddenly be able to run a lot of programs, that it couldn't before. It
is also the most portable grayscale Macintosh.

Disclaimer: I have no connection with Micron, except for being a satisfied
customer.

From:	NetMail%"holst@diku.dk" 27-JUL-1992 03:54:40.24
        Bo Holst-Christensen
        holst@diku.dk     dikubhc1@uts.uni-c.dk     FAX: +45 53 640 321

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

I have purchased the  Micron Xceed card and grey-scale adaptor. Yes, it does
work, but it's a real bummer to fit in. I agree it's a great concept.
However, I must warn you about a few things first. Since the adaptor runs
off the Xceed card, you can only run ONE monitor in greysacle or colour at
any one time. That means you only get greyscale on the 9" inch screen when
there is no external monitor running. If you have an external monitor then
your internal screen DOES work, but only in normal (1-bit) B&W mode.

I think it"s still worth buying, especially if you're tight of cash and can
onlyafford the card for now; you still get an enhanced SE/30 while you save
up for a monitor. What's more, if you buy a decent monitor you can use it
for your next Mac (although I think the SE/30 is the best ever madefor
personal use). You still then have a better than normal SE/30 which you can
sell (yuk) or keep for the rest of your days in greyscale.

Let me tell you a bit about the Xceed card. It is FAST, especially since
it's a PDS not a NuBus. I play the game Hellcats over the Pacific a lot and
the graphics on that are unreal, especially in colour. In the lab we have
IIcx's. They, of course, run at the same clock speed as the SE/30 and they
have Apple 13" RGBs. We also have a Quadra 700. I've played Hellcats on all
three types of machine and I can say that the SE/30 (with Xceed card and an
excellent Eizo T240i 14" Trinitron monitor) renders the Hellcats' graphics
at the same speed as the Quadra (with cache off).

A note of caution about the fitting of the grey scale adaptor- it's
difficult to do this yourself. You need at least one person helping if you
(like me) want to be really gentle with the motherboard. The adaptor
replaces the Apple CRT driver and connects with the motherboard, the Xceed
card and the internal video board, all using one 5 pronged
just-long-enough-if-it breathes-in cable. I was so relieved to hear that
satisfying startup tone when I'd fitted in the adaptor. Yes I got greyscale,
but no it wasn't quite right. There was a lot of ghosting of the image and
things were periodically in and out of focus. For one sleepless night I
thought I'd damaged the CRT.  My mind was put at rest the next day when I
replace Apple's CRT driver- everything was okay. A (transatlantic) phonecall
to the helpfull guys at Micron (maybe only helpful because my English accent
delighted them so) revealed that there are tuning screw (s) on the adaptor
that need to be adjusted to make the card run properly. They recommend that
the adaptor is fitted by an authorisd dealer, not necessarily because of
invalidating warranties, but because of the technical knowledge required to
fit the thing in. Personally I don't like the thought of twiddling with
controls with the SE/30 cover open and the machine switched on. 

You'd also need a helper or a mirror at least. So at the moment I've got an
unused adaptor. 

Since I've bought the Eizo monitor (much better monitor than the Apple 13")
anyway, I'm not losing the benefits of the greyscale adaptor. When I've
saved enough to pay for the labour costs of getting the card fitted I will
do so.
 
As I'm sure you've noticed I can strongly recommend the Eizo T240i  monitor.
I'm so happy with it that I could easily tell you what's so good about it,
but I won't unless you want to hear and ask me for the info. (I'm sorry
about the length of this message as it is). To sum up- go for the Micron
products (you get 5 years' warranty and some nifty software too), but get
someone to fit the adaptor (the Xceed card is a cinch) unless you're a
technical expert. You don't get internal greyscale when thereUs another
monitor attached. The SE/30 is a great machine and you get 2 monitors to
run. Excellent with sys7- use one for the finder and the other for apps.
Also with Daystar digital's new range of SE/30 accelerators which go
straight into the motherboard, leaving the PDS free, your SE/30 is as good
as any "new" mac and will be for many years to come.
 
I suppose I should say that I have no connection with Apple, Micron, Eizo,
Graphic Simulations or Daystar Digital. I'm just a Molecular Biology student
who saves up most of his stipend for his Mac addiction.
 
Feel free to ask further questions. I hope I haven't taken up too much time
and that I have been of some help.

From:	NetMail%"JM144@MOLECULAR-BIOLOGY-1.BIOLOGY.CAMBRIDGE.AC.UK" 
        27-JUL-1992 08:41:40.03
        Joe Makkerh
        Wellcome/CRC Institute
        University of Cambridge
        Tennis Court Road
        Cambridge
        UK
        FAX: + 44 223334089
        Voice: + 44 223334109

Date: Thu, 2 Feb 95 19:09:26 GMT
From: tjfs@tadpole.co.uk (Tim Steele)
Subject: Classic Power Mods

Some tips on modifying Mac Classic Analog Boards!
-------------------------------------------------

If you want to modify a Mac Classic from 110v to 240v (or vice versa) use
these tables:

Late Revision Classic Analog Board (JP2 marked on PCB across CP13 location)

        110v            240v
JP1     Wire Link       -
JP2     -               Wire Link
CP1     220uF 250V      220uF 400V
CP13    220uF 250V      -
CP19    4.7nF 250V      10nF 250V               <-- Must be Class Y Rated
CP38    Wire Link       10nF 250V               <-- Must be Class Y Rated



Early Revision Classic Analog Board (JP2 not marked across CP13)

        110v            240v
JP1     Wire Link       -
CP1     220uF 250V      220uF 400V
CP13    220uF 250V      220uF 400V
CP19    4.7nF 250V      10nF 250V               <-- Must be Class Y Rated
CP38    Wire Link       10nF 250V               <-- Must be Class Y Rated

Date: Mon, 16 Aug 93 18:05:13 -0400
From: earlydh@c-17igp.wpafb.af.mil (Dwight Early)
Subject: [*] How to Open Up a Duo


--========================_7049532==_
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Dear Digest Readers,

Ralph Wolfson asked me to pass this enclosed document onto the sumex and
umich archives.  It describes the procedure for opening up a Duo for
installation of such goodies as your heart desires.  It is a text file,
Stuff(it)ed and BinHex'd.

--Dwight Early


--========================_7049532==_
Content-Type: application/mac-binhex-40; name="Duo.open.sit"

(This file must be converted with BinHex 4.0)

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R[3:

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______________________________________________________________________________
The Apple Macintosh PowerBook FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) (with answers!)
______________________________________________________________________________


I wrote this article when I noticed that the same questions started popping
up again and again in comp.sys.mac.hardware and comp.sys.mac.system.

The PowerBooks are relatively new and different computers that are being
purchased by old Macintosh users who do not feel the need to read the manuals.
Most of the answers in this article could be stated with the simple FLA: RTFM.
Four letter acronym: Read The reFerence Manual (or something like that anyway).

Here are the questions:

Q: My PowerBook refuses to read and write some 800KB disks. What do I do?
Q: My PowerBook slows down now and then while it should be doing something.
Q: What does the power saving mode of the PowerBook 170 do?
Q: My PowerBook battery life is nowhere as long as advertised.
Q: My PowerBook 170 has broken pixels on the screen.
Q: I need more memory.
Q: I need more disk space.
Q: I need an external monitor or LCD projection screen.
Q: Apple's internal modem doesn't seem to work.
Q: The PowerBook serial port is dropping characters or has MIDI problems.
Q: Can the keyboard layout be changed?
Q: How does one open a PowerBook 140 or 170?
Q: Can the annoying speaker click be disabled somehow?

Now that you have had time to read the questions, here they are again with the
answers:

Q: My PowerBook refuses to read and write some 800KB disks. What do I do?
A: There appear to be two possible reasons for this. One is that the powerbooks
   do not accept the way some machines format 800KB disks. The solution to this
   part of the problem is to take a blank disk (unformatted), format it on a
   PowerBook and copy the files to this disk on any other machine. The other
   problem is that the PowerBook 140 disk drive is not properly shielded from
   the backlight of the display. Apple installs a new shield at no charge, but
   you may prefer to just switch off the backlight when you encounter a disk
   that will not be read correctly otherwise. So far, these problems have not
   been observed with high density (1.4MB) disks.

Q: My PowerBook slows down now and then while it should be doing something.
A: All the Apple portables have a built-in idle mode that is entered if
   there is no I/O activity and the cursor isn't a watch and isn't
   changing. In this mode, the Portable and PB100 will get 64 wait
   states for every memory access, bringing the effective speed down to
   something equivalen to a 1Mhz 68000. The PB140 and 170 use a
   different trick: the power to the processor is switched off for a
   short period and then restored for a while. The result is about the
   same.

   To disable the sleep mode, option-click the text "Minutes Until
   Automatic Sleep" in the Portable control panel. It is also a FAQ to
   ask why Apple hid this control this way, so please don't ask: no one
   knows. This thing is documented at least in the PowerBook manuals,
   so all this would be old hat to you if you had just RTFM.

Q: What does the power saving mode of the PowerBook 170 do?
A: The PowerBook 170 can run at 25Mhz or at 16Mhz. In the power saving
   mode, it will always run at 16Mhz, which brings it down to the same
   speed as the PB140 (except for the floating point performance, since
   the PB140 has no floating point unit).  If you are not really
   interested in a fast computer, you can save some power by running at
   the lower speed. Since I don't have a PB170 of my own, I can comment
   on which way I would run it. Battery life is such a hard thing to
   bargain with.

Q: My PowerBook battery life is nowhere as long as advertised.
A: If you only get 1 hour of battery life from your PB, you're probably
   doing something wrong. If you have a PB140 or PB170, avoid running
   with virtual memory and don't leave a terminal program running if
   you don't need it and you have an internal modem.

   If you have a PB140 or PB170, try to always use the batteries until
   they are almost empty and then give them at least a 5 hour charge
   (8-10 is better). You only get an 80% charge in 2-3 hours and
   charging continues even though the indicator doesn't show this. If
   you only use the battery halfway and then charge it, you run the
   risk of producing a memory effect on the battery. Apple has tried to
   eliminate the problem, but you still should try to use batteries
   until they are empty.

   On the PB100 and Portable, you should never let the battery
   discharge completely.  If you do, the capacity of the battery is
   reduced and the damage is usually irreversable. If I had a PB100, I
   would never use it after the second battery warning and I would
   avoid using it after the first. The good news is that it is
   perfectly ok to charge a half-used battery. There's no memory effect
   to worry about. The same charging times apply: 2-3 hours will only
   get you an 80% charge.

   Other tips: if you need extended battery life, turn off the
   backlight. This will save you about 40% of the power. Use a strong
   lamp to light the screen and it will be almost as readable as with
   the backlight on. (Don't heat the display!) If you still find that
   you have to extend battery life or you can't turn the backlight off,
   try to run from a RAM disk or increase the cache size. Also, some
   programs use the hard disk more frequently than others. Putting the
   system to sleep more often is also a good idea. Experiment with the
   Portable control panel settings to find the optimum sleep times.
   Switch off localtalk, if you are not using it.

Q: My PowerBook 170 has broken pixels on the screen.
A: Not always, but you can try. Apple specifies a limit of 5 broken
   pixels before it considers a display worth replacing. When we got
   our first Portable, I was quite mad for a few seconds when I found
   the broken pixels, but when I found that they didn't usually cause
   problems using the computer, I calmed down and got used to them.
   Active matrix displays tend to have broken pixels, because
   production yelds are very low as it is. The manufacturer is quite
   aware of the broken pixels when the display leaves the factory. The
   amount of broken pixels will not usually increase quickly, if at
   all.

   You can find "broken pixels" by trying a totally white background
   pattern and looking for black pixels and then trying a totally black
   pattern and looking for white pixels.

   The SuperTwist displays on the PB100 and PB140 shouldn't have any
   broken pixels.  They do have a slight ghosting problem and the
   contrast is only 1:12 instead of the 1:16 that you get with the
   PB170.

   Actually, it seems that the above information is not 100% accurate,
   so here's an update that was posted recently:

   | The current manufacturing specifications for the Active Matrix
   | Display allows the following: a) up to and including 5 voids
   | (pixels that stay white all the time), no two within 1" of each
   | other; b) 0 defects (pixels that stay black all the time).  The
   | manufacturing costs to eliminate all pixel voids would probably be
   | prohibitive and would prevent Apple from making active matrix
   | display technology available in the PowerBook 170 at an affordable
   | price.

Q: I need more memory.
A: PowerBooks currently come with either 2MB or 4MB of memory. At the
   time of this writing, third party solutions can upgrade this to 8MB.
   I highly recommend getting your PowerBook with 2MB of base memory
   and immediately expanding that to 8MB. If you need even more real
   memory, just wait a while and larger expansion boards will be
   commercially available. (I saw one used at MacWorld.) Boards with
   more than 6MB of RAM will use a bank switching scheme and the only
   way to make this transparent is to use the memory management unit,
   so boards with more than 6MB will not work with the PowerBook 100.

   Other tips: use System 7.0 tune-up and turn off localtalk. Reduce
   the number of system extensions and control panels that may take up
   memory. Reduce the size of the disk cache. As a last resort, use
   virtual memory  (if you can).

   PowerBook 100: You can use system 6.07 or 6.08 with the PowerBook 100.
   Apple doesn't guarantee that it works ok, but they say that it
   probably works. You can't adjust the backlight brightness using
   the rotating button, but you can get the Portable backlight upgrade
   from ftp.apple.com and use the control panel that comes with it.
   Battery life indication in the battery DA might not reflect reality.
   System 6 requires less memory than System 7, so you effectively
   get some more memory and a little disk space (so this tip also
   applies to the question below).

Q: I need more disk space.
A: The first solution is to get DiskDoubler, AutoDoubler, SuperDisk or
   some other similar utility. I had a lot of compatibility problems
   with the SuperDisk demo, so I waited until AutoDoubler was available
   and bought it for my PowerBook. I haven't regretted my decision.
   AutoDoubler 1.0 has one known bug with dedicated AppleShare servers,
   but it works fine on my PowerBook 140. My 40MB disk was full before
   AutoDoubler. It now has 14MB of free space.

   Apple now offers the PB100 with 40MB of disk space. There seems to
   be an upgrade program available for those who currently have a 20MB
   disk.

   Beyond 40MB, you'll have to turn to third party upgrades. The
   largest internal hard disk that I've seen is 120MB, but that product
   may not be available yet and I don't know who made it. (I just know
   that it exists.)

   Strange tip: Try Claris Works. With AutoDoubler, the program only takes
   1MB of disk space and it has an excellent spreadsheet, a business graphics
   program, a terminal program, a MacDraw class drawing program, a database
   program (filemaker style) and a relatively good word processor. The only
   thing I really miss is style sheets. MacZone seems to have this program on
   sale for $169 or something like that... Very nicely implemented program.

   Standard tip: The Apple hard formatter usually leaves about 1.5MB of
   unallocated space on all Apple hard disks. Unless you are using software
   that assumes that a volume is exactly 20MB or 40MB, you can reclaim this
   space by doing a custom partitioning. First click the custom partition
   button, then remove the Apple partition and create a new Mac partition
   that occupies the full disk space. As I said, this works on most Apple
   hard disks and can be done with the Apple hard disk formatter.

Q: I need an external monitor or LCD projection screen.
A: There are two types of solutions for this. You can either install a
   card that takes some memory expansion space or you can use a
   SCSI-based display adapter.  Both solutions will reduce the amount
   of RAM available to you. SCSI display adapters also steal away some
   of your CPU power. I have no recommendations, make your own
   decisions. At least some of these systems work with VGA-compatible
   LCD panels. With the right display adapter PB140 and 170 can use a
   color screen just as any Mac II-class computer.

Q: Apple's internal modem doesn't seem to work.
A: The Apple modem seems to have some problems with other modems. I
   haven't tried the modem myself, but usenet articles tend to indicate
   that it has problems handshaking with other modems if the error
   correction features are on. Try finding out the AT-commands that
   control the error correction and play with them until handshaking
   works. I know this is a lame answer, so here's something more
   profound from someone who actually has an Apple modem:

   The internal modem design is lame in at least one other way as well,
   specifically in the handling of the profiles.  Profile 1 is
   overwritten every time the modem is powered off, making it useless
   for storing profile information.  The Powerbook modem tool also
   leaves the modem in a fairly funny state in that it turns off
   verbose mode so if you attempt to talk to your modem, the modem
   looks "dead".  The way out of this is, using your favorite terminal
   emulator and the serial tool, issue:

        1. +++<CR>
        2. AT &F Q0 V1<CR>

   you should see OK.  What the above does is to restore the factory
   defaults, turn off quiet mode and turn on verbose mode.

   If you want the modem initialization string that I've found works to
   get MNP disabled (I've attempted to talk to 3 seperate MNP
   supporting modems with my PB170 WITHOUT success) and the rest of the
   modem conditioned to be able to communicate in general with other
   modems:

        1. AT &F &Q0 Q0 V1

   Which, in addition to the above, also turns OFF the error correcting
   capability of the modem.  Once this is done, you should have no
   problem.  The same three modems work just fine once error correction
   is disabled.

   |  Dick Munroe                             Internet: munroe@dmc.com
   |  Doyle Munroe Consultants, Inc.          UUCP: ...uunet!thehulk!munroe

Q: The PowerBook serial port is dropping characters.
A: This happens at least at 9600 bps and I haven't found any way to
   solve this problem. It's either a hardware problem or a problem
   with the operating system. Apple doesn't seem to be really aware
   of this. I hate this bug. Apple should fix this ASAP!

   I have also received reports about some problems with Midi software.
   It appears to be the same problem and it is related to the serial
   port hardware power saving system.

   If you have problems or want this problem fixed, call Apple and
   tell them about it. Don't post to the net about it. Don't mail
   your friendly DTS engineer. Posting or E-mailing has less effect
   than if you call or write a real letter and it usually bothers
   innocent people.

Q: Can the keyboard layout be changed?
A: Yes, up to a limit. Physically the keys are mostly identical and
   they pop out easily enough if you are careful. My enter key and
   escape got moved almost immediately when I got my PB140. The
   software side of things is a bit more complicated (actually a lot
   more complicated), so you should wait for someone to produce an easy
   solution for moving the keys around. Changing the KCHR resource is
   not the right answer to this problem (although it works for most people).

   At this point, it appears that the CAPS LOCK key can not be changed
   into a working control key. It is possible to disable the CAPS LOCk
   key, but beyond that, there's no way to use it otherwise. (Unless
   you want a locking key of some other kind like a CMD LOCK or CTRL LOCK.)

   I NEVER USE THE CAPS LOCK KEY. NOT EVEN WHILE I'M WRITING THIS, SO PLEASE
   APPLE MAKE SURE THAT THE NEXT BATCH OF POWERBOOKS CAN BE CONFIGURED SO
   THAT THAT KEY DOES NOT LOCK! BETTER YET, MAKE IT A FREE UPGRADE THAT
   FIXES THE SERIAL PORT TROUBLE AND THIS KEYBOARD MONSTROSITY!
   
Q: How does one open a PowerBook 140 or 170?
A: First a word of advice: you will void your warranty if you open your
   PowerBook (unless you happen to be approved by Apple) and there's a
   big chance that you will either fry something in there or you will
   leave a cable loose. A loose cable will quickly start to haunt you
   PowerBook.

   If you really want to open your PowerBook 140 or 170 and you know what
   you are doing, here's how to do it: (I give no guarantee that these
   instructions are ok or that your PowerBook will work after you have
   tampered with it.)

   First, shut down the power book, remove the power cord and the battery.
   Check to see that it really is off and has no power by pressing the
   power button in the back. Once you are sure, you can proceed. Do not
   replace the battery or the power cord while the powerbook is open.

   You need two screwdrivers: one Torx-10 and one Torx-8. The T10 will open
   the screws under the PowerBook and the T8 will open the single screw
   near the I/O ports. (Note: the T8 also opens the display screws under
   those rubber caps, but there should be no need to ever open the display.)

   Once the screws are removed, part of the bottom will slide slightly,
   releasing the front of the machine. Note that there is a ribbon cable
   connection in the back of the machine and the ribbon is very short.
   It is very easy to accidentally pull this ribbon loose. You usually
   have to unplug this cable anyway, if you are installing more memory.
   Unplugging the cable will zero your PRAM and reset the system clock.

   Now that you've seen what is inside the computer, check all the
   cables and carefully match the teeth near the trackball. It is
   quite easy to break something in there (one of the machines that
   we got from Apple was badly assembled and was missing some teeth).

   Check that the two parts are aligned correctly and put the screws
   back and tighten them carefully. If everything else is in place and
   looks ok, you can put the battery back in (never earlier than this)
   and press the power on button. Note that pressing the keyboard does not
   switch the machine on, because it has been shut down.

   Think about it? Do you really have to open a machine that was not
   designed to be opened by unqualified people?

Q: Can the annoying speaker click be disabled somehow?
A: The click usually results from the power saving system that shuts off the
   sound circuitry. So far, no one has developed a means to keep the sound
   chip on all the time. Basically you could just write a program that keeps
   making silence (playing a silent sound), but you have to remember that this
   would still waste quite a lot of power.


-----


That's it. Send comments and corrections to:

	jmunkki@hut.fi (Juri Munkki)

Don't expect me to answer your mail and don't expect that your changes
will be immediately incorporated into this article. Opinions here are
mine and are bound to change without notice. I take no responsibility
on the fairness and correctness of the advice that I may seem to be
giving here.

One more thing: RTFM. I did.

Subject: mouse-crashes.txt
Date: Mon, 13 Jun 1994 15:33:48 +0900
From: Robert Morelos-Zaragoza <robert@is.aist-nara.ac.jp>

Dear moderators,

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Someone posted a complaint in the usenet about the title of my previous
submission "malaysian-mouse-crashes.txt" and suggested that any reference
to "Malaysia" be removed from the text. I must oblige and enclosed is a
revised version
---------------  PLEASE REMOVE THE ABOVE LINES BEFORE POSTING -----------


Included is information on a crash caused by a defective ADB mouse II and
how to solve it. I do not know exactly where you could place this, maybe in
info-mac/info or something similar.

Robert Morelos-Zaragoza

==============================================================================
The startup crashes in my Mac (Centris 650) have been solved. They were
caused by a defective mouse. After I replaced the bad mouse with a known
good one, the crashes completely disappeared. The technical information
of the mouse is as follows:

FCC ID: BCGM2706
Family No. M2706
MB3313LFT18
Made in Malaysia

The strange thing is that instead of giving somekind of indication of
a hardware problem (like starting up with a "melody"), the Mac acted as if it
was a software problem. The key to solving the problem was a Technical Note
from Apple Computer, Inc. from their gopher site (info.hed.apple.com):
"Cure for Jumpy Pointer (8 93)". And since my mouse sometimes got jumpy, I 
decided to check on it. The note reads:

"...
A jumpy mouse pointer probably means you have a loose ADB cable (the one that
connects your mouse to your keyboard or your keyboard to your Macintosh). To
check it:
1) Shut down.
2) Turn the power off.
3) Secure the cable's connections.
..."

Lesson: If your Mac is crashing (mouse completely frozen, or momentarily
frozen after typing a charater in the keyboard, or mouse gets jumpy), and
after following proper procedures for a clean install of software system, the
problem reappears, then do the following:

1. Shut down.
2. Turn the power off.
3. Replace mouse.

If your Mac restarts OK, then you have solved the problem.

I hope this is of help to someone out there.

Robert

---------
Robert H. Morelos-Zaragoza, Visiting Research Associate
Faculty of Engineering Science             e-mail: robert@ics.es.osaka-u.ac.jp
Department of Information and Computer Sciences        voice: +81 (6) 850-3060
Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560 Japan              FAX: +81 (6) 850-3050

Date: Fri, 1 May 92 13:57:05 MDT 
From: sharmony@nova.ta52.lanl.gov (Stephen C. Harmony)
Subject: [*] PowerCache performance in LC 

Dear Moderators:

I think the following report on the DayStar PowerCache performance in LC's would 
be a useful addition to the info-mac/reports directory.

The following explanation of how the PowerCache minimizes the effect of the LC's 
16-bit data path was written by Steve Tuttle, the Online Resources Mgr for 
DayStar Digital. I will submit an expanded report to the info-mac archives 
as soon as Steve forwards the results of the benchmark tests on the unenhanced 
LC and IIci, but the results as presented give a good indication of the 
performance difference between a PowerCache-enhanced LC and IIci.

"Altho it would appear intuitive that due to the 16 bit path on the LC you are
going to be forced to run slower, it is not necessarily the case. You see, all
Macs have some sort of delays inherent in their design: The II,IIx,IIcx, &
SE/30 all have 120ns RAM and require 2 wait states to be added to the memory
cycle in order to ensure the memory is stable enough before the processor
accesses it. On the IIci they go to 80ns RAM & 1 wait state. So all we're
really talking about here is just another built in delay in the Mac's
architecture that keeps the processor from running as fast as it would normally
be able to run.

"Our solution? Static RAM Cache. What we do is take a 32K cache of 25ns static
RAM and build it into our accelerator boards. What happens is that all
cacheable data and instructions that are normally read out of memory and loaded
into the processor are now intercepted and loaded into cache - the processor
always works from our cache. What this means is that the processor can run at
almost zero wait states because for all intents and purposes, it is running
with 25ns memory.

"Is it effective? Extremely so. We are able to maintain a cache hit rate of
80-90%, meaning that only 1 time in 5 to 1 time in 10 do we have to go out and
make a slow memory cycle. Over 80% of the time we are working out of cache. You
can see the dramatic difference caching makes by turning the cache off on a
PowerCache - the performance boost, even of a 50MHz board, drops off to about a
30% increase. Why, simply because the added processor speed means nothing if it
has to sit there idly waiting on memory to give it more information to process.

"This method works on any sort of bottleneck to the processor. We are sold on
caching as being a fundamental method of performance enhancement - look at our
entire product line! We have our FastCaches & ComboCache, simple cache boards
for roughly 20% boosts, our line of PowerCaches that add cpu acceleration to
caching for boosts up to over 300%, our SCSI PowerCard, which uses caching in
addition to increased thruput to speed hard disks, and our RAM PowerCard, which
is a large RAM Disk for caching of your hard disk & VM scratch files. Simply
put, whenever you can replace something slow with something faster (especially
when you can pretend like you're doing it but actually using far less memory!),
you have an advantage.

"Altho I shy away from standard benchmarks, as we prefer real world benchmarks,
here are the numbers comparing a 50MHz LC to a 50MHz IIci in Speedo 3.06. I
have given the summary numbers for each category here. Both were running on 8
bit internal video (the CI gets an additional 15% boost if you use a video
card), 50MHz 882 FPUs, the CI had 8MB, & the LC 10MB RAM. They ran off the same
Quantum 105 hard disk, running Sys 7.0.1 w/ TuneUp, in 32 bit mode, and had
After Dark and QuickMail running init-wise.

           PowerCache 50 LC    PowerCache 50 IIci    % Faster Than LC
           ----------------    ------------------    ----------------
P.R. Rating:     11.88               12.91                   9
  Bench Avg:     20.82               18.22                 *14 (LC is faster)
    FPU Avg:      4.05                4.05                   0
  Color Avg:      2.30                3.96                 *72

* The LC was faster on cpu intensive activities because the CI has to dedicate
more cpu activity to video than the LC when running on internal video.
Conversely, it blows the LC away in the video category because it is handled in
this manner (vs the LC having to work thru 16 bit data paths). If you add a
video card, the P.R. & bench ratings improve, but video comes down to about 21%
better than an LC.

"Hope this answers some of the questions out there. If you still doubt that it
can be true, give your local dealer a call, get an LC PowerCache and test it
for yourself. If you are not completely satisfied, return it within 30 days for
a full refund (thru participating dealers).

"As I have said before on CIS, I had an LC running at SF MW with a 50MHz
PowerCache running 50MB of VM and doing full renderings in Infini-D, and it was
just screaming along! You will not believe it's running on an LC. It's _that_
fast!"

Steve Tuttle
DayStar Digital
voice: 404-967-2077
 fax: 404-967-3018
 CIS: 75300,1544
AppleLink: DAYSTAR.MKT

Steve can be reached in the CompuServe Macintosh Vendor Forum A (go macaven). 
DayStar Digital messages are in Section 6 of that forum.

As a new PowerCache owner (40 MHz, no FPU), I am impressed with the 
acceleration. Applications load faster, and games like MS Flight Simulator and 
Vette that depend on animation are much more playable. The acceleration doesn't 
make the vehicles run faster (that would be undesirable); the framing rate of 
the animations goes up noticeably. Before, response to control input was jerky 
and so I tended to overcontrol. Now I can control the plane or car much more 
smoothly. I can even do a power-induced oversteer in the Vette without crashing, 
impossible before the PowerCache because of the lower framing rate.

Steve Harmony    internet: sharmony@lanl.gov  CIS: 71101,404